Report Description

Smart weapons are guided munitions designed to hit a definite target accurately. These weapons minimize the collateral damage in terms of destruction of civilian property and non-combatant casualties and also overcome the challenges in hitting moving targets over long distances. They are also known as precision guided munitions. Rapidly growing and modernizing economies are increasingly incorporating smart weapons in their military organizations and forces. These weapons use different types of guidance systems to locate targets. Some of the commonly used types include laser guidance systems, satellite systems and TV camera guidance systems. Technological advancements in weapon manufacturing have resulted in new innovations and availability of different types of smart weapons. These types include air to ground missiles, surface to air missiles, guided bombs, precision artillery; direct energy weapons and sensor fused weapons among others. The smart weapons market is currently dominated by guided missiles, which include surface-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.

Escalating demand for high precision in arms and ammunitions and the increasing urge to minimize the collateral damage has led to the high adoption of smart weapons. Further, emerging economies such as China and India are increasing their military spending in an effort to modernize their weapons. This surges the demand for smart weapons globally. A large number of programs are underway for the development of technologies that are expected to enhance the precision of smart weapons. Most of these programs are in the research and development phase. Thus, these ongoing technological advancements from key market players offer potential opportunities in the smart weapons market. However, government regulations such as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) are posing a challenge to the growth of the smart weapons market.

Geographically, the smart weapons market is dominated by North America owing to the strong focus of the U.S. government on the incorporation of technologically advanced weapons to its weapon inventory. The U.S. government is also the major customer of smart weapons globally and therefore high defense budget in the U.S. positively supports the growth of global smart weapons market. Key players based in the U.S. such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, General Dynamic Corporation, Raytheon Company and Textron Defense Systems among others are strongly focusing on satisfying the needs of the U.S. army to develop weapon systems that can assure safety of the military forces.

This report has been segmented by type and by geography. It also includes the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), Porter’s five forces analysis and value chain of the global smart weapons market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2013 to 2019. We have also covered the current market scenario for smart weapons and highlighted its future trends that will impact demand.

The report also analyzes macro economic factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of global smart weapons market. Porter’s five forces analysis offers insights on market competition throughout its value chain. In addition, the market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their strategies accordingly.

This report analyzes the global smart weapons market in terms of revenue (USD billion) on the basis of type and based on geography. The market has been segmented as follows: